With 500 French in Syria, government starts up new anti-jihadi ad campaign

FILE - In this Thursday, Oct. 2, 2014 photo, Severine Ali Mehenni holds pictures of her daughter Sahra, who left to join jihad in Syria, at her home in Lezignan Corbieres, France. France's government is hoping an ad campaign featuring mourning families will make young people think twice about leaving to join extremists in Syria. More than 500 people have left France to join Islamic State and other jihadi groups in the war zones of Syria and Iraq. (AP Photo/ Fred Scheiber, File)
(The Associated Press)

PARIS – France's government is hoping an ad campaign featuring mourning families will make young people think twice about leaving to join extremists in Syria.

More than 500 people have left France to join Islamic State and other jihadi groups in the war zones of Syria and Iraq — more than any other country in Western Europe. France has tightened some restrictions, including allowing families to flag their children to law enforcement and put a hold on their travel documents, and set up a hotline for worried parents to call.

"We are not the parents of a terrorist. We are victims," says Baptiste, the father of a 17-year-old girl who left for Syria. He speaks to the camera directly, as do the four others.